The 3rd Saturday Lectures is an exciting monthly lecture program hosted by SDCHM on every 3rd Saturday of the month. SDCHM guest speakers include a variety of students, academics, and professionals who will share a unique viewpoint on their interesting topics. Bring the whole family because these lectures assume no prior knowledge, nonetheless, they offer fresh perspectives for those well versed in Chinese history, culture, and art. No two lectures are alike so keep checking our calendar for new and exciting topics!

Get more information on our 3rd Saturday events and other events on our events calendar

UPCOMING LECTURES

Saturday, January 20, 2018 | 2 – 4 p.m.

Our next Third Saturday Lecture will feature special guest and author Sheldon Lou, who will discuss his extensive travel in China and the dramatic changes in the Chinese economic and political landscape.

Sheldon Lou was born in Sichuan and raised in Beijing. After graduating from Qinghua University’s Electrical Engineering Department (无线电系) in 1965, he spent ten months in a rural village as a working team member and returned to Qinghua in time to witness the birth of the Great Cultural Revolution. Three years later he joined a factory in Inner Mongolia for six years. He managed to get back to Beijing and became a graduate student at the Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1978. He arrived in the United States in 1980 and obtained his master and Ph.D. degrees from MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He became a research scientist at MIT and later joined the Faculty of Management at the University of Toronto. As a Professor of Operations Management, he later taught at the Business School of California State University, San Marcos and retired in 2010 as an Emeritus Professor.

His memoir, Sparrows, Bedbugs, and Body Shadows, published by University of Hawaii, tells compelling and sometimes humorous stories about his life and lives of many workers, farmers, students, teachers, and intellectuals in China from 50s to 70s, such as the crazy sparrow eradication campaign, women raped by village officials, farmers starved to death, the fascinating story of his uncle, a devoted Buddhist educated in Germany, and more. They show how ordinary Chinese lived, eventually survived, or perished, in those turbulent years, and what physical and spiritual forces led them to perform unimaginable deeds. It is important to think what we can learn from that period of the Chinese history.

PARTNERSHIPS

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum is a non-profit organization. This program is made possible in part by the Commission for Arts and Culture, City of San Diego and the Bank of America Foundation.